Holiday Weight loss - The struggle is real!

Medical Weight Loss may sound like a treatment that involves a lot of medication and harmful procedures, but that is far from the truth. Learn how the Innovative Women's Health approach stands apart from the diets you have tried in the past. Fast - Effective - Long lasting

Feeling guilty for sneaking candy from your son or daughter's Halloween stash?! This craving may be out of your control! - The holidays are a time we often struggle with our weight management. We can be overwhelmed with parties, treats, snacks, and comfort food during the shorter winter days.

We have good news

Innovative Women's Health has a medical weight loss program that is proven to work. We will help you to resist the holiday cravings, achieve your weight loss goals, and find the skinnier, healthier you.

Your Brain - Winter days - Weight Loss - & Cravings!

The struggle is real!

Speaking from personal experience - Managing your weight sometimes feels like a battle we aren't designed to win. As soon you start your diet - It feels as if everyone comes out of the woodwork to reconnect through various food based social events and, here in the NW, our transition into winter and the holidays, can be one of the most difficult times to manage any sort of a diet regime. Soon, you start to think of a win as being able to avoid that second helping at the office party.

These cravings aren't just because the food is convenient and seemingly everywhere. Our body actually responds to various stimuli in ways that can intensify these cravings. Cold weather, Shorter days, Even the act of actual weight loss - Causes our bodies to fight back.

Let's talk about why...

Why the body responds to cravings

Winter is upon us....

According to a recent article in WebMD, the added access to "treats" (and/or holiday feasts), are only a part of the problem. When we feel cold, our body sends messages that it needs to heat up fast. That message is often played out as a craving for carbohydrate-rich foods. In the colder months, the tendency is to reach for more caloric heavier foods like stews, mac and cheese, over vegetables, (even though vegetables work just as well).

These foods also tend to boost serotonin levels that run lower in the winter. Another cause of low serotonin is S.A.D. (Seasonal Depression Disorder.) SAD is a type of depression caused by a lack of exposure to light. People suffering from S.A.D. have lower levels of Serotonin in their bloodstream. We can elevate our serotonin through exercise - however, winter brings with it bad weather - making it difficult to get out and be active. This lack of exercise may cause us to seek out other means of boosting serotonin levels - such as turning to comfort food.

LEPTIN - The master regulator.

There is one last thing we haven't covered yet -THE MASTER HORMONE - AKA: LEPTIN. leptin's main role is long-term regulation of energy balance. essentially governing the amount of calories we eat, expend, and how much fat we store. Leptin sets the weight your body thinks you are healthiest at. It regulates energy levels so you don’t over eat or starve yourself. Without it - we probably would not have survived long.

Where it works against us

Because Leptin is stored in our fat cells, when we shed body weight, our Leptin levels diminish causing the body to throw the brakes on our metabolism and launch into cravings mode. Our brain wants to get us back to where it was happy. ...Unfortunately - That is not always where we are healthiest.

Leptin, Leptin resistance, and why diets fail.

Once again - When we eat, our body fat goes up which means we have more Leptin and, in turn, eat less - burn more. When we diet or stop eating, our body fat goes down... leptin goes down, our cravings increase and our metabolism slows.

This is why diets seldom work. The first week you can usually manage the diet pretty well, but soon, your body begins to defend itself from what it sees as a problem. The brain fights to get back to where it was and your cravings become extreme.

In some cases - the brain is not getting the signals from the Leptin and thinks you are starving, even if you have more than enough fat storage. This is called Leptin resistance. Leptin resistance is thought to be a major contributor to obesity. The lack of Leptin signal to our brain causes the brain to send signals that we MUST eat or we could starve to death. It also takes measures to reduces our energy expenditures by slowing our metabolism. In other words - In it’s attempt to save us, our brain is actually harming us. These cravings are biochemical forces from the brain that are designed to compel us to eat back any lost weight. And even when our brain is not suffering from Leptin resistance - It continues to fight weight loss at any level.

This leads us to a very sad truth...

Most diets fail and long term weight loss is an exception - NOT the rule.

But we have a solution

Remember when I said it isn't your fault?

OK - So I get that I have knocked you down a bit - DO NOT FEEL HOPELESS - Just stick with me a little longer. We do have answers!

The reason to bring your attention to the seemingly impossible struggle of losing weight - is so I can explain to you why Medical weight loss is not the same thing as diets you may have tried in the past. We can help you where diets fail.

What we learned…

Throughout the winter months our bodies are being bombarded with temptations and cravings

S.A.D. and depression can cause us to eat as a means of improving our serotonin levels.

Our bodies may signal cravings as a means to increase body heat on cold days.

Leptin is a hormone that regulates our body energy and will signal the brain to fight weight loss

Leptin resistance is very real and a known contributor to obesity

What you may not have known... Medical weight loss can (and does) work where diets fail

See - All of the aforementioned issues that contribute to that holiday weight gain we struggle with year in and year out, are issues that Medical Weight programs like ours can help with. Regular diets don't address

The biochemical forces from the brain that cause our weight to "yo-yo".

Cravings that are part of our body’s defense mechanism - designed to drive us to seek out high caloric foods in order to bring us back to the weight our brain thinks is "normal".

Hormone imbalance limiting our ability to manage a healthy weight

Low serotonin levels that may be enhancing our cravings.

If you can reach, and maintain, your goal weight - It has been shown that it is possible to reset that part of our brain that determines your body weight set point.

Before I talk about the solution - let me say this:

Lowering your body weight set point takes patience, discipline, and consistency. There is no shortcut or life hack... but, we can help you get there.

Studies suggest the longer you maintain a healthy body weight, the better your chances are at keeping it.

Resetting your body's internal set weight point requires a little discipline and some time - but we can help make that a less difficult journey. Our Medical Weight loss solution allows us to address many issues that diets will never be able to help you with. Medical Weight Loss means you have a physician that will address your medical history and focus on issues no clinician or dietitian is qualified to address.

Our physicians work with you to set a diet and exercise routine that is customized to your exacting body composition. Our physicians can examine your hormone levels to determine, and address, any deficiencies that may impede your progress. With prescriptions we can help you through the powerful cravings that cause many diets to fail and help your body to achieve it's maximum fat burn efficiency levels.

Medical Weight Loss is sometimes referred to as a "faster weight loss solution" because we have tools that are not available to those using diet and exercise alone. Our goal is to minimize the obstacles that prevent you from achieving your desired weight loss goals.

Ways we can help you lose weight:

Customizing a program around your exact body composition

We optimize the efficiency with which your body burns fat - focusing on diet

We address cravings with the help of prescriptions

Monitor your hormone levels and adjust our plan based on your needs

Work with you to maintain your new body weight set point.

offer ongoing assistance to help you keep the weight off.

Once you have found that skinnier, healthier you, the drive to maintain it lives on with you, Your stomach will shrink, your energy levels greatly improve and we will continue to work with you to ensure that your new lifestyle is here to stay.

Make this the last year for excuses. Take the first step to a healthier you. Don't waste time chasing fad diets and disappointment. Diets are hard enough without having to waste time in an endless cycle of failed attempts. Medical Weight Loss can help you get there and stay there.